Justin Blake and Brendan Murphy Named UTAH National Geographic Bee Semifinalists

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Justin Blake and Brendan Murphy Named UTAH National Geographic Bee Semifinalists
By National Geographic Society

Nebo School District
Justin Blake
Scott & Emilie Blake
Diamond Fork Junior
50 North 900 East, Spanish Fork, UT 84660
Seventh Grade

Brendan Murphy
John & Leslee Murphy
Westside Elementary
740 West Center, Springville, UT 84663
Fourth Grade

Justin Blake and Brendan Murphy have been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2012 UTAH National Geographic Bee, sponsored by Google and Plum Creek.  Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school’s Bee winner.  School-level winners then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society.  In each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, and the U.S. territories, the National Geographic Society invited the students with the top 100 scores to compete at the state level.

The 2012 UTAH National Geographic Bee will be held at Thanksgiving Point, Gardens Visitor Center, Lehi Utah on Friday, March 30, 2012.

The state winner will receive $100, the “Complete National Geographic on DVD”, and a trip to Washington, D.C., where he/she will represent UTAH in the national finals at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 22 - 24, 2012.  The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the Society.  The national winner will also travel (along with one parent or guardian), all expenses paid, to the Galápagos Islands.  The winner will experience geography firsthand through up-close encounters with the wildlife and landscape of Galápagos. Travel for the trip is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.  For additional information on the National Geographic Bee please visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee.

National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild will air the final round of the 2012 National Geographic Bee, moderated by Alex Trebek, on Thursday, May 24 (to be followed on public television stations).  Please check local television listings for date and time in your area.

How would you fare as a Bee contestant?  At the school-level Bee this year, students had to answer such questions as:
The Bitterroot Range is located on the border between Montana and which other state? Idaho

Which city on the Great Lakes has the largest population? Chicago

The Stuttgart region, an important automobile manufacturing center, is located near the Black Forest in which country? Germany

What word is used to describe the side of a mountain that faces the prevailing winds?  windward

MEDIA NOTE: Prior to the state finals on March 30, press materials with additional information about the state- and national-level contests will be posted online. To be notified when these materials are available, or for other inquiries, please contact Stephanie Montgomery (smontgom [at] ngs [dot] org (smontgom[at]ngs[dot]org) / 202-857-5838) or Carrie Engel (jmcfeely [at] ngs [dot] org (cengel[at]ngs[dot]org) / 202-457-8449) from the National Geographic Communications office. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. National Geographic reflects the world through its magazines, television programs, films, music and radio, books, DVDs, maps, exhibitions, live events, school publishing programs, interactive media and merchandise. National Geographic magazine, the Society’s official journal, published in English and 33 local-language editions, is read by more than 60 million people each month. The National Geographic Channel reaches 380 million households in 37 languages in 163 countries. National Geographic Digital Media receives more than 19 million visitors a month. National Geographic has funded more than 10,000 scientific research, conservation and exploration projects and supports an education program promoting geography literacy. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com.

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
Google

Downloaded by over a billon people around the globe, Google Earth continues to mesmerize students by placing the world’s geographic information on their computer and at their fingertips. Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on the planet to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, Street View, historical imagery, and more!  At Google, we believe that geography education is more critical than ever as the world becomes a smaller place. Google is excited to sponsor the 2012 National Geographic Bee.

Plum Creek
Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the nation with approximately 6.6 million acres of timberlands in major timber producing regions of the United States and wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest.

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